Display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A display apparatus includes a substrate having a bending region between a first region and a second region, the bending region being configured to be bent about a bending axis that extends in one direction; a display unit on the substrate; a first wiring unit at the bending region, the first wiring unit including a first bending portion having a plurality of first holes; and a second wiring unit spaced apart from the first wiring unit and at the bending region, the second wiring unit including a second bending portion having a different shape from the first bending portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/411,810, filed Jan. 20, 2017, which claims priority to and thebenefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0024880, filed Mar. 2,2016, the entire content of both of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

One or more embodiments relate to display apparatuses

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a display apparatus includes a display unit on a substrate.Such a display apparatus may be bent at least partially so as to improvevisibility from various angles or reduce an area of a non-displayregion.

However, according to related art, defects may occur while manufacturinga display apparatus that is bent, or the lifespan of the displayapparatus may be reduced.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments include a display apparatus capable of reducingor minimizing defect occurrences, such as a disconnection, duringmanufacturing of the display apparatus while securing a long lifespan ofthe display apparatus. However, the one or more embodiments are onlyexamples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to one or more embodiments, a display apparatus includes asubstrate having a bending region between a first region and a secondregion, the bending region being configured to be bent about a bendingaxis that extends in one direction; a display unit on the substrate; afirst wiring unit at the bending region, the first wiring unit includinga first bending portion having a plurality of first holes; and a secondwiring unit spaced apart from the first wiring unit and at the bendingregion, the second wiring unit including a second bending portion havinga different shape from the first bending portion.

The second wiring unit may include a second bending portion having aplurality of second holes.

A planar shape of each of the plurality of first holes may be differentfrom a planar shape of each of the plurality of second holes.

The number of first holes may be different from the number of secondholes.

A planar shape of each of the plurality of second holes may be apolygon, a circle, an oval, a portion of a polygon, a portion of acircle, or a portion of an oval.

The planar shape of each of the plurality of second holes may be a fanshape including two straight lines of which respective one ends contacteach other at a certain angle and a curved portion connecting otherrespective ends of the two straight lines to each other.

The plurality of second holes may include a (2-1)th hole having a firstcurved portion protruding in a first direction and a (2-2)th hole havinga second curved portion protruding in a second direction opposite to thefirst direction, the (2-1)th hole may alternate with the (2-2)th hole ina third direction crossing with the first direction or the seconddirection.

The display apparatus may further include an insulating layer thatcovers the first wiring unit and the second wiring unit.

A portion of the insulating layer may be at the plurality of first holesand the plurality of second holes.

Second holes on an n-th row among the plurality of second holes may beapart by a first distance from second holes on an (n-1)th row among theplurality of second holes in a first direction, and a planar shape ofeach of the plurality of second holes may be a curve.

The first distance may be less than a width of a second hole on the(n-1)th row.

An outline of each of the plurality of second holes may include a firstcurved portion and a second curved portion that is symmetrical to thefirst curved portion.

Each of the first curved portion and the second curved portion mayinclude a section rounded clockwise by using an arbitrary referencepoint on a second axis following a second direction perpendicular to thefirst direction as a starting point, and a section roundedcounterclockwise from the arbitrary reference point as the startingpoint.

The first curved portion may include a first section rounded clockwiseto have a first curvature from the second axis; a second section roundedcounterclockwise to have a second curvature from the first section; anda third section rounded clockwise to have a third curvature from thesecond section.

When an identical current is applied to the first wiring unit and thesecond wiring unit, the first wiring unit may have a first resistancevalue and the second wiring unit may have a second resistance value thatis less than the first resistance value.

The first wiring unit may be a data line that provides a data signal tothe display unit, and the second wiring unit may be a power line thatsupplies driving power to the display unit.

The first bending portion may have a pattern bent with a straight lineor bent with a curve in a first direction and in a second directioncrossing with the first direction.

The first bending portion may include a first line and a second linespaced apart from the first line by a first distance to form a pair thatare disposed adjacent to each other, and may include at least one firstbridge line between the first line and the second line to electricallyconnect the first line to the second line.

The first bending portion may include a first portion where the firstline and the second line are parallel to each other in the firstdirection and a second portion where the first line and the second lineare parallel to each other in the second direction. The first bridgeline may be disposed at each of the first portion and the secondportion.

The first bridge line may connect the first line to the second line witha smallest distance.

The first bending portion may further include a third line spaced apartfrom the second line by a second distance, the second line and the thirdline being disposed adjacent to each other, and may further include atleast one second bridge line between the second line and the third lineto electrically connect the second line to the third line.

The first distance and the second distance may be identical with eachother.

The second bending portion may have a straight line shape.

The display apparatus may further include first pads and second pads onone end of the substrate, wherein the first wiring unit is connected tothe first pads and the second wiring unit is connected to the secondpads.

The display unit may be in the first region of the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial plan view of an organic light-emittingdisplay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a display unit of the displayapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a display apparatus, which is amodification of the display apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a display apparatus, which is amodification of the display apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a magnified plan view of a portion of an organiclight-emitting display device illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the organiclight-emitting display apparatus of FIG. 4, taken along the line A-A ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an organiclight-emitting display apparatus according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an organiclight-emitting display apparatus according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an organiclight-emitting display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a display apparatus, which is amodification of the display apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a magnified plan view of a portion of the organiclight-emitting display device illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the organiclight-emitting display apparatus of FIG. 11, taken along the line B-B ofFIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an organiclight-emitting display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an organiclight-emitting display apparatus according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the organiclight-emitting display apparatus of FIG. 14, taken along the line C-C ofFIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a magnified plan view of a portion of the organiclight-emitting display device illustrated in FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like elements (or components) throughout. In thisregard, the present embodiments may have different forms and should notbe construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein.Accordingly, the embodiments are merely described below, by referring tothe figures, to explain aspects of the present description.

As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “atleast one of,” “one of,” and “selected from,” when preceding a list ofelements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify theindividual elements of the list. Further, the use of “may” whendescribing embodiments of the present invention refers to “one or moreembodiments of the present invention.” Also, the term “exemplary” isintended to refer to an example or illustration.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments,particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and describedin detail in the written description. Hereinafter, features of thepresent invention and a method for accomplishing them will be describedmore fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichembodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein.

One or more embodiments of the invention will be described below in moredetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those componentsthat are the same or are in correspondence are rendered the samereference numeral regardless of the figure number, and redundantexplanations may be omitted.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements,components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements,components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited bythese terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component,region, layer, or section from another element, component, region,layer, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, orsection discussed below could be termed a second element, component,region, layer, or section without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “top,” “bottom,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “under,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein forease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship toanother element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It willbe understood that the spatially relative terms are intended toencompass different orientations of the device in use or in operation,in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, ifthe device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below,”“beneath,” or “under” other elements or features would then be oriented“above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example terms “below”and “under” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein shouldbe interpreted accordingly.

Further, it will also be understood that when one element, component,region, layer, and/or section is referred to as being “between” twoelements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, it can be theonly element, component, region, layer, and/or section between the twoelements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, or one or moreintervening elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections mayalso be present.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.As used herein, the singular forms “a” and “an” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,”“comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” and “include,” whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on,” “connected to,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” “coupledwith,” or “adjacent to” another element or layer, it can be “directlyon,” “directly connected to,” “directly coupled to,” “directly connectedwith,” “directly coupled with,” or “directly adjacent to” the otherelement or layer, or one or more intervening elements or layers may bepresent. Furthermore, “connection,” “connected,” etc., may also refer to“electrical connection,” “electrically connected,” etc., depending onthe context in which such terms are used as would be understood by thoseskilled in the art. When an element or layer is referred to as being“directly on,” “directly connected to,” “directly coupled to,” “directlyconnected with,” “directly coupled with,” or “immediately adjacent to”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent.

As used herein, “substantially,” “about,” and similar terms are used asterms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and are intended toaccount for the inherent deviations in measured or calculated valuesthat would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.

As used herein, the terms “use,” “using,” and “used” may be consideredsynonymous with the terms “utilize,” “utilizing,” and “utilized,”respectively.

Sizes of elements (or components) in the drawings may be exaggerated forconvenience of explanation. In other words, because sizes andthicknesses of components in the drawings are arbitrarily illustratedfor convenience of explanation, the following embodiments are notlimited thereto.

In the following examples, the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis arenot limited to three axes of the rectangular coordinate system, and maybe interpreted in a broader sense. For example, the x-axis, the y-axis,and the z-axis may be perpendicular to one another, or may representdifferent directions that are not perpendicular to one another.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented differently fromthose described herein and a specific process order may be performeddifferently from the order described herein. For example, twoconsecutively described processes may be performed substantially at thesame time or performed in an order opposite to the described order.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a portion of a displayapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 isa schematic plan view of a structure of the display apparatus of FIG. 1that is not yet bent.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portion of a substrate 100, which is a portion ofthe display apparatus according to the present embodiment, is bent, andthus the portion of the display apparatus has a bent shape like thesubstrate 100. However, for convenience of explanation, FIG. 2illustrates a not-yet-bent display apparatus. For reference,cross-sectional views, plan views, and/or the like regarding embodimentsto be described later illustrate a not-yet-bent display apparatus forconvenience of illustration and description.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate 100 included in the displayapparatus according to the present embodiment has a bending region BAextending in one direction (+x direction). The bending region BA isbetween a first region 1A and a second region 2A, in another direction(+y direction) that crosses with the one direction (+x direction). Asshown in FIG. 1, the substrate 100 is bent with respect to a bendingaxis BAX extending in the one direction (+x direction).

The substrate 100 may include various suitable materials having flexibleor bendable characteristics. For example, the substrate 100 may includea polymer resin, such as polyethersulphone (PES), polyacrylate (PAR),polyetherimide (PEI), polyethyelenen napthalate (PEN),polyethyeleneterepthalate (PET), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS),polyallylate, polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC), and/or celluloseacetate propionate (CAP).

The first region 1A includes a display region DA. As shown in FIG. 2,the first region 1A includes a portion of a non-display region aroundthe display region DA. The second region 2A includes the non-displayregion NDA.

The display region DA of the first region 1A may include a display unit200 (e.g., a display 200). The display unit 200 may include a displaydevice 250, and may display an image by controlling a display device 250(see FIG. 3) to emit light. A structure of the display unit 200 will bedescribed below in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

A first wiring unit 300 and a second wiring unit 400 may be on thesubstrate 100. The first wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400may be at the non-display region NDA around the display region DA, asshown in FIG. 2, and may extend over the first region 1A, the secondregion 2A, and the bending region BA. In other words, at least portionsof the first wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 may overlapwith the bending region BA.

The first wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 may each beelectrically connected to the display unit 200. The first wiring unit300 may be a line that transmits a data signal to the display unit 200.For example, the first wiring unit 300 may be a data line. The secondwiring unit 400 may be spaced apart from the first wiring unit 300. Thesecond wiring unit 400 may include a power line 400 a supplying drivingpower to the display unit 200, and a driving circuit line 400 b applyinga signal to a scan driving circuit 550. The scan driving circuit 550 maybe a shift register. For example, the power line 400 a may be an ELVDDline, an ELVSS line, or the like, and the driving circuit line 400 b maybe a scan line or a gate line.

According to an example embodiment, the first wiring unit 300 and thesecond wiring unit 400 may include at least one metal selected from thegroup consisting of molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt),palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), gold (Au), nickel (Ni),neodymium (Nd), iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr), calcium (Ca), titanium(Ti), tungsten (W), and copper (Cu). Each of the first wiring unit 300and the second wiring unit 400 may have a single-layered ormulti-layered structure.

A pad unit 500 may be on one end of the substrate 100 and may include afirst pad unit 510 (e.g., first pads 510) and a second pad unit 520(e.g., second pads 520). Special chips and/or the like may be on thefirst pad unit 510 and the second pad unit 520. The first wiring unit300 may be connected to the first pad unit 510 and the second wiringunit 400 may be connected to the second pad unit 520, and thus the firstwiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 may transmit a signalapplied to the pad unit 500 to the display unit 200 via the chips.

However, in the related art, a first wiring unit and a second wiringunit are formed as simple straight lines. In a display apparatus havinga bending region as in the present embodiment, stress concentrates onportions of the first wiring unit and the second wiring unit thatoverlap with a bending region, and thus the portions of the first wiringunit and the second wiring unit may have cracks, leading to defects suchas disconnections.

However, in the display apparatus according to the present embodiment, afirst bending portion 310 (see FIG. 4) and a second bending portion 410(see FIG. 4) may be respectively included as the portions of the firstwiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 that overlap with thebending region BA.

In the description below, the shapes or forms of the first bendingportion 310, the first wiring unit 300 (including the first bendingportion 310), the second bending portion 410, and the second wiring unit400 (including the second bending portion 410) may be understood asreferring to the shapes or forms of the wirings on a plane (X-Y plane).When an element is described as having a shape or a form, it is notreferring to the widths, breadths, or thicknesses of the individuallines, but rather, it is referring to the shape or form of the lines asa whole.

The first wiring unit 300 may include the first bending portion 310, andthe first bending portion 310 may face the bending region BA. The firstbending portion 310 may have a planar shape in which a certain patternis repeated, instead of having a simple straight line shape. The secondwiring unit 400 may include the second bending portion 410, and thesecond bending portion 410 may face the bending region BA. The secondbending portion 410 may have a planar shape in which a certain patternis repeated, similar to the first bending portion 310. According to thepresent embodiment, the first bending portion 310 and the second bendingportion 410 may have different shapes.

According to another embodiment, the second bending portion 410 of thesecond wiring unit 400 may not have the planar shape in which a certainpattern is repeated. In other words, the second wiring unit 400 may havea simple straight line shape and face the bending region BA. In otherwords, the second wiring unit 400 may have a constant width and aconstant thickness even at the second bending portion 410 overlappingwith the bending region BA, and the second bending portion 410 may beformed to have the same or substantially the same shape as portions ofthe second wiring unit 400 that are located on the first region 1A andthe second region 2A. The first bending portion 310 may have a straightline shape and may still have a different shape from the second bendingportion 410.

According to the present embodiment, the first wiring unit 300 may havea first resistance value, and the second wiring unit 400 may have asecond resistance value. The second resistance value of the secondwiring unit 400 may be less than the first resistance value of the firstwiring unit 300, because the first bending portion 310 included in thefirst wiring unit 300 and the second bending portion 410 included in thesecond wiring unit 400 may have different shapes. In other words,assuming that a thickness and a width of a portion of the first wiringunit 300, except for the first bending portion 310, are identical withthose of a portion of the second wiring unit 400, except for the secondbending portion 410, the second resistance value of the second wiringunit 400 including the second bending portion 410 may be less than thefirst resistance value of the first wiring unit 300 including the firstbending portion 310.

This may be understood as the second bending portion 410 having lowerresistance than the first bending portion 310. As the first bendingportion 310 and the second bending portion 410 have different shapes ofpatterns, when an identical current is applied to the first bendingportion 310 and the second bending portion 410, resistance applied tothe first bending portion 310 may be different from resistance appliedto the second bending portion 410. According to the present embodiment,the resistance applied to the second bending portion 410 may be lessthan the resistance applied to the first bending portion 310.

As described above, to ease stress concentration on the portions of thefirst wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 overlapping withthe bending region BA, the first wiring unit 300 may include the firstbending portion 310 and the second wiring unit 400 may include thesecond bending portion 410. Compared with a typical case in which firstand second wiring units have straight line shapes, the resistances ofthe first wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 respectivelyincluding the first bending portion 310 and the second bending portion410 increase.

Because the first wiring unit 300 is a data line for transmitting a datasignal to the display unit 200 and the second wiring unit 400 is thepower line 400 a for supplying driving power to the display unit 200 orthe driving circuit line 400 b for applying a signal to the scan drivingcircuit 550 as described above, the quality of an image of the displayunit 200 is more sensitive to the resistance of the second wiring unit400 than to the resistance of the first wiring unit 300. Thus, thedisplay apparatus according to the present embodiment uses a wiringstructure in which the resistance of the second wiring unit 400including the second bending portion 410 is less than the resistance ofthe first wiring unit 300 including the first bending portion 310.Accordingly, the flexibility of the portions of the first wiring unit300 and the second wiring unit 400 overlapping with the bending regionBA may improve and stress concentration may be eased. Moreover, theimage quality of the display unit 200 may be improved by forming thesecond wiring unit 400, which supplies driving power to the display unit200, to have less resistance than the first wiring unit 300.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the display apparatus ofFIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates a pixel structure of the display unit 200included in the display apparatus of FIG. 1. According to the presentembodiment, the display device 250 of the display unit 200 includes anorganic light-emitting device (OLED). However, according to anotherembodiment, the display device 250 of the display unit 200 may includean inorganic light-emitting device such as a liquid crystal device, aninorganic light-emitting diode ILED, micro light-emitting device pLED,etc.

The display unit 200 may include a thin film transistor TFT, to whichthe display device 250 is electrically connected, in addition to thedisplay device 250. According to the present embodiment, the displaydevice 250 of the display unit 200 includes an OLED. Electricallyconnecting the OLED to the thin film transistor TFT may be understood aselectrically connecting a pixel electrode 220 to the thin filmtransistor TFT. The non-display region NDA around the display region DAof the substrate 100 may include the thin film transistor TFT. The thinfilm transistor TFT in the non-display region NDA as described above maybe a portion of a circuit unit (e.g., a circuit) for controlling anelectrical signal applied to the display unit 200.

First, to planarize a surface of the substrate 100 and/or prevent orsubstantially prevent impurities and/or the like from permeating asemiconductor layer 202 of the thin film transistor TFT, a buffer layer201 may be on the substrate 100, and the semiconductor layer 202 may beon the buffer layer 201. The buffer layer 201 may include a siliconoxide, a silicon nitride, and/or the like.

A gate electrode 204 is over the semiconductor layer 202, and a sourceelectrode 206 a and a drain electrode 206 b may electrically communicate(e.g., be electrically connected) with each other in response to asignal applied to the gate electrode 204. For example, the gateelectrode 204 may be formed of at least one of aluminum (Al), platinum(Pt), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), gold (Au), nickel(Ni), neodymium (Nd), iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr), calcium (Ca),molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), and copper (Cu) in asingle- or multi-layered structure, in consideration of adhesion to anadjacent layer, surface smoothness of a layer stacked on the gateelectrode 204, and processability.

To secure insulation between the semiconductor layer 202 and the gateelectrode 204, a gate insulating layer 203 may be between thesemiconductor layer 202 and the gate electrode 204. The gate insulatinglayer 203 may include a silicon oxide and/or a silicon nitride.

An interlayer insulating layer 205 may be over the gate electrode 204and may be formed of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride, and/or the likein a single- or multi-layered structure.

The source electrode 206 a and the drain electrode 206 b are on theinterlayer insulating layer 205. The source electrode 206 a and thedrain electrode 206 b may be electrically connected to the semiconductorlayer 202 via respective contact holes formed in both of the interlayerinsulating layer 205 and the gate insulating layer 203. For example, thesource electrode 206 a and the drain electrode 206 b may each be formedof at least one of aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), silver(Ag), magnesium (Mg), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd), iridium(Ir), chromium (Cr), calcium (Ca), molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti),tungsten (W), and copper (Cu) in a single- or multi-layered structure,in consideration of conductivity and/or the like.

A protective layer may be on the thin film transistor TFT having thisstructure in order to protect the thin film transistor TFT. Theprotective layer may be formed of an inorganic material such as siliconoxide, silicon nitride, and/or silicon oxynitride.

A planarization layer 207 may be over the substrate 100. Theplanarization layer 207 may be a protective layer. When an OLED is overthe thin film transistor TFT, the planarization layer 207 substantiallyplanarizes the upper surface of the thin film transistor TFT andprotects the thin film transistor TFT and various devices. Theplanarization layer 207 may be formed of, for example, an acryl-basedorganic material, benzocyclobutene (BCB), or the like. The buffer layer201, the gate insulating layer 203, the interlayer insulating layer 205,and the planarization layer 207 may be on the entire surface of thesubstrate 100.

A pixel defining layer 208 may be on the thin film transistor TFT. Thepixel defining layer 208 may be on the above-described planarizationlayer 207 and may have an aperture. The pixel defining layer 208 maydefine a pixel region on the substrate 100.

The pixel defining layer 208 may be, for example, an organic insulatinglayer.

The organic insulating layer may include an acryl-based polymer such aspolymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), a polymer derivativehaving a phenol group, an imide-based polymer, an acryl ether-basedpolymer, an amide-based polymer, a fluorine-based polymer, ap-xylene-based polymer, a vinyl alcohol-based polymer, or a mixture ofthese materials.

The display device 250 may be on the planarization layer 207. Thedisplay device 250 may include the pixel electrode 220, an intermediatelayer 230 including an emission layer (EML), and an opposite electrode240.

The pixel electrode 220 may include a transparent (or semi-transparent)electrode or a reflective electrode. When the pixel electrode 220includes a transparent (or semi-transparent) electrode, the pixelelectrode 220 may be formed of, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO),indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In₂O₃), indiumgallium oxide (IGO), or aluminum zinc oxide (AZO). When the pixelelectrode 220 includes a reflective electrode, the pixel electrode 220may include a reflective layer formed of silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg),aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), nickel (Ni),neodymium (Nd), iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr), or a combination thereof,and a layer formed of ITO, IZO, ZnO, In₂O₃, IGO, or AZO. However,embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and thepixel electrode 220 may be formed of any of various other suitablematerials and may have any of various other suitable structures, suchas, a single-layered or multi-layered structure.

The intermediate layer 230 may be on each of the pixel regions definedby the pixel defining layer 208. The intermediate layer 230 includes anemission layer (EML) emitting light according to an electrical signal,and may further include a hole injection layer (HIL) and a holetransport layer (HTL) between the EML and the pixel electrode 220, andan electron transport layer (ETL) and an electron injection layer (EIL)between the EML and the opposite electrode 240, in a single or complexstack structure. However, the intermediate layer 230 is not limited tothe structure described above, and may have any of various othersuitable structures.

The opposite electrode 240 covers the intermediate layer 230 includingthe EML and faces the pixel electrode 220. The opposite electrode 240may be on the entire surface of the substrate 100. The oppositeelectrode 240 may include a transparent (or semi-transparent) electrodeor a reflective electrode.

When the opposite electrode 240 includes a transparent (orsemi-transparent) electrode, the opposite electrode 240 may include alayer formed of a metal having a small work function, that is, Li, Ca,LiF/Ca, LiF/Al, Al, Ag, Mg, or a combination thereof, and a transparent(or semi-transparent) conductive layer formed of ITO, IZO, ZnO, and/orIn₂O₃. When the opposite electrode 240 includes a reflective electrode,the opposite electrode 240 may include a layer formed of Li, Ca, LiF/Ca,LiF/Al, Al, Ag, Mg, or a combination thereof. The configuration of theopposite electrode 240 and the material used to form the oppositeelectrode 240 are not limited to those described above, and the oppositeelectrode 240 may be variously modified.

According to an embodiment, functional layers, such as an encapsulationlayer, a polarization layer, and/or a color filter, may be furtherincluded on the opposite electrode 240.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the display apparatus ofFIG. 1. FIG. 4 magnifies and illustrates a portion of a fan-out regionwhere a plurality of first wiring units 300 (e.g., a plurality of firstwirings 300) and a plurality of second wiring units 400 (e.g., aplurality of second wirings 400) are consecutively arranged in onedirection.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, at least a portion of each of the firstwiring units 300 overlaps the bending region BA. Each of the firstwiring units 300 may be a data line that is on one side of the displayunit 200 and may deliver a data signal from the display unit 200. Eachof the second wiring units 400 may be a power line that is on one sideof the display unit 200 and may supply driving power to the display unit200. Accordingly, a plurality of first wiring units 300 and a pluralityof second wiring units 400 may be arranged in one direction, as shown inFIG. 4.

According to the present embodiment, the second wiring unit 400 may havea larger line width than the first wiring unit 300, because more firstwiring units 300 are arranged in a relatively narrower area than secondwiring units 400 on a wiring layout and the image quality of the displayunit 200 improves with a decrease in the resistance of the second wiringunits 400, as described above.

The first wiring units 300 may be over the first region 1A, the secondregion 2A, and the bending region BA, and may include the first bendingportions 310 corresponding to the portions overlapping with the bendingregion BA. Each of the first bending portions 310 may have a patternshape in which a certain pattern is consecutively repeated. AlthoughFIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment in which each of the first bendingportions 310 has a zigzag pattern, the structure of the first bendingportion 310 is not limited thereto. The shape of each first bendingportion 310 may be a consecutive repetition of a certain pattern.According to another embodiment, each of the first bending portions 310may have an “S” shape, which is a curve shape, instead of a straightline shape.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first wiring units 300 may also be on the firstregion 1A and the second region 2A, and portions of the first wiringunits 300 overlapping with the first region 1A and the second region 2A,namely, portions of the first wiring units 300, except for the firstbending portions 310 overlapping with the bending region BA, may havestraight line shapes having no patterns. The first wiring units 300 mayeach extend in one direction, and the first bending portion 310 of eachof the first wiring units 300 may be repeatedly bent in anotherdirection that crosses with the one direction.

However, as shown in FIG. 4, each of the second bending portions 410 mayhave a straight line shape having no holes. In other words, each secondbending portion 410 may have substantially the same shape (e.g., thesame shape) as other portions of each second wiring unit 400.

FIG. 5 is a magnified plan view of a portion of a first wiring unit 300of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion ofthe display apparatus of FIG.

4, taken along the line A-A of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, a first insulating layer 110 may be on thesubstrate 100, and the first wiring unit 300 may be on the firstinsulating layer 110. The first insulating layer 110 may include anorganic insulating layer and/or an inorganic insulating layer. In otherwords, the first insulating layer 110 may only include an organicinsulating layer, may only include an inorganic insulating layer, or mayinclude a stack of an organic insulating layer and an inorganicinsulating layer. In FIG. 6, the first insulating layer 110 may have aflat upper surface. However, according to another embodiment, the firstinsulating layer 110 may have an uneven upper surface such as a waveshape. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, when the first wiring unit 300 is onthe same level as the gate electrode 204 of the thin film transistorTFT, the buffer layer 201 and/or the gate insulating layer 203 may bebetween the substrate 100 and the first wiring unit 300. According toanother embodiment, when the first wiring unit 300 is on the same levelas the source electrode 206 a or the drain electrode 206 b of the thinfilm transistor TFT, the buffer layer 201, the gate insulating layer203, and/or the interlayer insulating layer 205 may be between thesubstrate 100 and the first wiring unit 300. Other insulating layers maybe further disposed.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the first bending portion 310 of the firstwiring unit 300, which overlaps with the bending region BA, may have apattern in which a planar shape is consecutively repeated. According toan embodiment, the first bending portion 310 may have a plurality offirst holes 310 h that penetrate through the first bending portion 310.The first bending portion 310 may have the plurality of first holes 310h.

Although described below, FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate the shape of asecond bending portion 410 of a second wiring unit 400 that overlapswith the bending region BA. The second bending portion 410 may have apattern in which a planar shape is consecutively repeated. According toan embodiment, the second bending portion 410 may have a plurality ofsecond holes 410 h that penetrate through the second bending portion.The second bending portion 410 may have the plurality of second holes410 h. The first bending portion 310 and the second bending portion 410may have different shapes, as described above, and the plurality offirst holes 310 h of the first bending portion 310 may have differentshapes from the plurality of second holes 410 h of the second bendingportion 410, as described below. According to another embodiment, thenumber of first holes 310 h of the first bending portion 310 may bedifferent from the number of second holes 410 h of the second bendingportion 410.

According to another embodiment, the second bending portion 410 may havea straight line shape having no holes.

According to the present embodiment, the plurality of first holes 310 hmay have different planar shapes from the plurality of second holes 410h. This may be understood as the first bending portion 310 and thesecond bending portion 410 having different planar shapes. This planarshape difference causes a difference between the resistances of thefirst wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400, and the secondwiring unit 400 may have a relatively lower resistance value than thefirst wiring unit 300.

Referring back to FIGS. 5 and 6, the first bending portion 310 may havea zigzag pattern in which bending in a first direction D1 and bending ina second direction D2 crossing with the first direction D1 alternatewith each other. The first direction D1 and the second direction D2 maybe different from a bending axis direction. In other words, when thebending axis direction is an X-axis direction, the first direction D1and the second direction D2 may be understood as being diagonaldirections that do not follow the X-axis direction. The first directionD1 and the second direction D2 may cross with both of the X-axisdirection and the Y-axis direction.

According to the present embodiment, the first bending portion 310 mayinclude a first line 312, a second line 314, and a first bridge line 313connecting the first line 312 with the second line 314. The first line312 and the second line 314 may be apart by a first distance d1 fromeach other to be adjacent (e.g., close or closest) to each other, andthus may form a pair. To electrically connect the first line 312 to thesecond line 314, at least one first bridge line 313 may be between thefirst line 312 and the second line 314.

The first bending portion 310 may include a first portion S1 and asecond portion S2 according to directions in which the first line 312and the second line 314 extend. The first line 312 and the second line314 in the first portion S1 may be arranged parallel to each other inthe first direction D1, and the first line 312 and the second line 314in the second portion S2 may be arranged parallel to each other in thesecond direction D2, which crosses with the first direction D1. Thefirst bridge lines 313 may be arranged in the first portion S1 and thesecond portion S2, respectively. Although the first bridge lines 313 arein centers of the first portion S1 and the second portion S2 in FIG. 5,embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. The firstbridge lines 313 may connect the first line 312 to the second line 314at other locations of the first bridge lines 313 and are not limited tothe locations shown in the figures.

The first bridge lines 313 may be arranged to connect the first line 312to the second line 314. According to the present embodiment, the firstbridge lines 313 may be arranged to connect the first line 312 to thesecond line 314 with small lengths (e.g., minimum lengths), because aresistance of a line is proportional to a length of the line and thusthe resistance of the line decreases as the length of the linedecreases. Accordingly, a length of each first bridge line 313 may beequal or substantially equal to the first distance d1 between the firstline 312 and the second line 314.

Each of the plurality of first holes 310 h may be defined by the firstline 312, the second line 314, and two first bridge lines 313. When aplurality of first bridge lines 313 are included, the two first bridgelines 313 may be two first bridge lines 313 that are adjacent (e.g.,close or closest) to each other. A planar shape of each of the pluralityof first holes 310 h is not limited thereto, and may be realized invarious embodiments.

According to an embodiment, second bridge lines 315 connecting the firstline 312 to the second line 314 may be included. Different from thefirst bridge lines 313, each of the second bridge lines 315 may extendin a bending axis direction (x direction). In other words, when thefirst bridge lines 313 extend in a direction crossing with thebending-axis direction (x direction), the second bridge lines 315 mayextend in the bending-axis direction (x direction). When a bridge lineextends in the direction crossing with the bending-axis direction (xdirection), a stress applied to the bridge line when the substrate 100is bent or folded in the bending-axis direction (x direction) mayincrease, and thus cracking or disconnection may occur in the bridgeline. Thus, as each of the second bridge lines 315 extends in thebending-axis direction (x direction), a stress applied to the secondbridge lines 315 may be reduced (e.g., minimized) even when thesubstrate 100 is bent in the bending-axis direction (x direction).

According to an embodiment, a third bridge line 316 connecting the firstline 312 to the second line 314 may be included. Different from thefirst bridge lines 313 and the second bridge lines 315, the third bridgeline 316 may extend in a direction (y direction) perpendicular to thebending axis direction (x direction). A line width a3 of the thirdbridge line 316 may be greater than a line width a4 of the first line312 and/or a line width a5 of the second line 314. A tensile stress maybe strongly applied to a bent portion of the third bridge line 316, andthus the third bridge line 316 may be highly likely to be disconnected.However, this disconnection may be prevented or substantially preventedby thickening the line width a3 of the third bridge line 316.

According to an embodiment, a line width al of each first bridge line313, a line width a2 of each second bridge line 315, and the line widtha3 of the third bridge line 316 may be different from the line width a4of the first line 312 and/or the line width a5 of the second line 314.

As shown in FIG. 5, all of the first bridge lines 313, the second bridgelines 315, and the third bridge line 316 may be between the first line312 and the second line 314. According to another embodiment, only thefirst bridge lines 313, only the second bridge lines 315, or only thethird bridge line 316 may be included between the first line 312 and thesecond line 314. According to another embodiment, the first bridge lines313 and the second bridge lines 315 may be included between the firstline 312 and the second line 314, or the first bridge lines 313 and thethird bridge line 316 may be included between the first line 312 and thesecond line 314, or the second bridge lines 315 and the third bridgeline 316 may be included between the first line 312 and the second line314.

Referring to FIG. 6, the first wiring unit 300 may be on the substrate100, and a second insulating layer 210 may be on the first wiring unit300 to cover the first wiring unit 300. The second insulating layer 210may be the interlayer insulating layer 205 or the planarization layer207 of FIG. 3. When the second insulating layer 210 is the interlayerinsulating layer 205, the first wiring unit 300 may be formed of thesame or substantially the same material as that used to form the gateelectrode 204 of the thin film transistor TFT and may be on the samelevel as the gate electrode 204. According to another embodiment, whenthe second insulating layer 210 is the planarization layer 207, thefirst wiring unit 300 may be formed of the same or substantially thesame material as that used to form the source electrode 206 a or thedrain electrode 206 b of the thin film transistor TFT and may be on thesame level as the source electrode 206 a or the drain electrode 206 b. Aportion of the second insulating layer 210 may be in the plurality offirst holes 310 h that penetrate through the first wiring unit 300.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7illustrates the shape of a first bending portion 310′ according toanother embodiment. The first bending portion 310′ of FIG. 7 may includean addition of a third line 316′ and a second bridge line 315′ to thefirst bending portion 310 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first bending portion 310′ may have a zigzagpattern in which bending in the first direction D1 and bending in thesecond direction D2 crossing with the first direction D1 alternate witheach other. The first direction D1 and the second direction D2 may bedifferent from a bending axis direction. In other words, when thebending axis direction is an X-axis direction, the first direction D1and the second direction D2 may be understood as being diagonaldirections that do not follow the X-axis direction. The first directionD1 and the second direction D2 may cross with both of the X-axisdirection and the Y-axis direction.

According to the present embodiment, the first bending portion 310′ mayinclude a first line 312′, a second line 314′, and a first bridge line313′ connecting the first line 312′ with the second line 314′. The firstline 312′ and the second line 314′ may be apart by a first distance d1′from each other to be adjacent (e.g., close or closest) to each other,and thus may form a pair. To electrically connect the first line 312′ tothe second line 314′, at least one first bridge line 313′ may be betweenthe first line 312′ and the second line 314′.

The first bending portion 310′ may include a third line 316′ disposedapart by a second distance d2′ from either the first line 312′ or thesecond line 314′ so as to be adjacent (e.g., close or closest) to eitherthe first line 312′ or the second line 314′. At least one second bridgeline 315′ may be between either the first line 312′ or the second line314′ and the third line 316′. When the third line 316′ is spaced apartfrom the first line 312′ by the second distance d2′ and the first line312′ and the third line 316′ are disposed adjacent to each other, thesecond bridge line 315′ may connect the first line 312′ to the thirdline 316′. When the third line 316′ is spaced apart from the second line314′ by the second distance d2′ and the second line 314′ and the thirdline 316′ are disposed adjacent to each other, the second bridge line315′ may connect the second line 314′ to the third line 316′.

According to the present embodiment, the first distance d1′ between thefirst line 312′ and the second line 314′ may be equal or substantiallyequal to the second distance d2′ between either the first line 312′ orthe second line 314′ and the third line 316′. However, the inventiveconcept is not limited thereto, and the first distance d1′ and thesecond distance d2′ may be different from each other.

According to an embodiment, third bridge lines 317′ connecting the firstline 312′ to the second line 314′ may be included. Different from thefirst bridge lines 313′, each of the third bridge lines 317′ may extendin a bending axis direction (x direction). In other words, when thefirst bridge lines 313′ extend in a direction crossing with thebending-axis direction (x direction), the third bridge lines 317′ mayextend in the bending-axis direction (x direction). When a bridge lineextends in the direction crossing with the bending-axis direction (xdirection), a stress applied to the bridge line when the substrate 100is bent or folded in the bending-axis direction (x direction) mayincrease, and thus cracking or disconnection may occur in the bridgeline. Thus, as each of the third bridge lines 317′ extends in thebending-axis direction (x direction), a stress applied to the thirdbridge lines 317′ may be reduced (e.g., minimized) even when thesubstrate 100 is bent in the bending-axis direction (x direction).

Similar to the above-described third bridge lines 317′, fourth bridgelines 319′ connecting the second line 314′ to the third line 316′ may beincluded.

According to an embodiment, a bridge line, such as the third bridge line316 of FIG. 5, may be further between the first line 312′ and the secondline 314′, in the direction (y direction) perpendicular to thebending-axis direction (x direction). A bridge line, such as the thirdbridge line 316 of FIG. 5, may be further between the second line 314′and the third line 316′, in the direction (y direction) perpendicular tothe bending-axis direction (x direction). Line widths of these bridgelines may be greater than line widths of the first line 312′, the secondline 314′, and the third line 316′.

According to an embodiment, the line width of each first bridge line313′, the line width of each second bridge line 315′, the line width ofeach third bridge line 317′, the line width of each fourth bridge line319′, and the line width of the bridge line may be different from theline width of the first line 312′, the line width of the second line314′, and/or the line width of the third line 316′.

As shown in FIG. 7, all of the first bridge lines 313′, the secondbridge lines 315′, the third bridge lines 317′, the fourth bridge lines319′, and the bridge line may be included between the first line 312′,the second line 314′, and the third line 316′. Alternatively, at leastone of each first bridge line 313′, each second bridge line 315′, eachthird bridge line 317′, each fourth bridge line 319′, and the bridgeline may be included between the first line 312′, the second line 314′,and the third line 316′.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8illustrates the shape of a first bending portion 310″ according toanother embodiment. The first bending portion 310″ of FIG. 8 may have ashape in which a first line 312″ and a second line 314″ are curvedlines.

Referring to FIG. 8, the first bending portion 310″ may have an “S”shaped pattern in which bending in a first direction and bending in asecond direction crossing with the first direction alternate with eachother. The first direction and the second direction may be differentfrom a bending axis direction. In other words, when a bending axisdirection is a row direction, the first direction and the seconddirection may be understood as being diagonal directions that do notfollow the row direction.

According to the present embodiment, the first bending portion 310″ mayinclude a first line 312″, a second line 314″, and a first bridge line313″ connecting the first line 312″ with the second line 314″. The firstline 312″ and the second line 314″ may be apart by a first distance fromeach other to be adjacent (e.g., close or closest) to each other, andthus may form a pair. To electrically connect the first line 312″ to thesecond line 314″, at least one first bridge line 313″ may be between thefirst line 312″ and the second line 314″.

The first line 312″ and the second line 314″ may have planar shapes thatare curves. According to another embodiment, each of the first line 312″and the second line 314″ may have a planar shape that is a combinationof a straight line and a curve.

According to an embodiment, second bridge lines 315″ connecting thefirst line 312″ to the second line 314″ may be included. Different fromthe first bridge lines 313″, each of the second bridge lines 315″ mayextend in a bending axis direction (x direction). In other words, whenthe first bridge lines 313″ extend in a direction crossing with thebending-axis direction (x direction), the second bridge lines 315″ mayextend in the bending-axis direction (x direction). When a bridge lineextends in the direction crossing with the bending-axis direction (xdirection), a stress applied to the bridge line when the substrate 100is bent or folded in the bending-axis direction (x direction) mayincrease, and thus cracking or disconnection may occur in the bridgeline. Thus, as each of the second bridge lines 315″ extends in thebending-axis direction (x direction), a stress applied to the secondbridge lines 315″ may be reduced (e.g., minimized) even when thesubstrate 100 is bent in the bending-axis direction (x direction).

According to an embodiment, a third bridge line connecting the firstline 312″ to the second line 314″ may be included. Different from thefirst bridge lines 313″ and the second bridge lines 315″, the thirdbridge line may extend in a direction (y direction) perpendicular to thebending axis direction (x direction). A line width of the third bridgeline may be greater than a line width of the first line 312″ and/or aline width of the second line 314″. A tensile stress may be stronglyapplied to a bent portion of the third bridge line, and thus the thirdbridge line may be highly likely to be disconnected. However, thisdisconnection may be prevented or substantially prevented by thickeningthe line width of the third bridge line.

According to an embodiment, the line width of each first bridge line313″, the line width of each second bridge line 315″, and the line widthof the third bridge line may be different from the line width of thefirst line 312″ and/or the line width of the second line 314″.

As shown in FIG. 8, all of the first bridge lines 313″, the secondbridge lines 315″, and the third bridge line may be between the firstline 312″ and the second line 314″. According to another embodiment,only the first bridge lines 313″, only the second bridge lines 315″, oronly the third bridge line may be included between the first line 312″and the second line 314″. According to another embodiment, the firstbridge lines 313″ and the second bridge lines 315″ may be includedbetween the first line 312″ and the second line 314″, the first bridgelines 313″ and the third bridge line may be included between the firstline 312″ and the second line 314″, or the second bridge lines 315″ andthe third bridge line may be included between the first line 312″ andthe second line 314″.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9illustrates the shape of a first bending portion 310′″ according toanother embodiment. The first bending portion 310′″ of FIG. 9 mayinclude a first line 312′″, a second line 314′″, first bridge lines313′″, and second bridge lines 315′″. FIG. 9 is different from FIG. 5 inthat cusps where the first line 312′″ and the second line 314′″ are bentare round. Because the structure of FIG. 9 is similar to that of FIG. 5except for this difference, a detailed description of FIG. 5 may beomitted. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the displayapparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 10, at least a portion of a second wiring unit 400 mayoverlap the bending region BA. The second wiring unit 400 may be a powerline that is on one side of the display unit 200 and supplies drivingpower to the display unit 200. Accordingly, a plurality of second wiringunits 400 may be arranged in one direction, as shown in FIG. 10.

The second wiring units 400 may be over the first region 1A, the secondregion 2A, and the bending region BA, and may include the second bendingportions 410 corresponding to the portions overlapping with the bendingregion BA. Each of the second bending portions 410 may have a patternshape in which a certain pattern is consecutively repeated. The shape ofeach second bending portion 410 may have a consecutive repetition of acertain pattern, and is not limited to the shape illustrated in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 10, the second wiring units 400 may also be on thefirst region 1A and the second region 2A, and portions of the secondwiring units 400 overlapping with the first region 1A and the secondregion 2A, namely, portions of the second wiring units 400, except forthe second bending portions 410 overlapping with the bending region BA,may have straight line shapes having no patterns. Thus, each secondwiring unit 400 may extend in one direction.

According to the present embodiment, a portion of the second wiring unit400 located on the first region 1A or the second region 2A may have afirst width w1, and a portion of the second wiring unit 400 located onthe bending region BA, namely, the second bending portion 410, may havea second width w2. The second width w2 may be greater than the firstwidth w1. In other words, the second bending portion 410 has a patternshape having a plurality of second holes 410 h, and a greater width isused to form a pattern than when the second bending portion 410 isformed as a simple straight line. Thus, the width w2 of the portion ofthe second wiring unit 400 located on the bending region BA may begreater than the width w1 of the portion of the second wiring unit 400located on the first region 1A or the second region 2A. This may beunderstood as a pitch w3 between the portions of two adjacent secondwiring units 400 located on the first region 1A or the second region 2Abeing greater than a pitch w4 between two adjacent second bendingportions 410 overlapping with the bending region BA.

FIG. 11 is a magnified plan view of a portion of the second wiring unit400 of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portionof the display apparatus of FIG. 11, taken along the line B-B of FIG.11.

Referring to FIG. 12, the first insulating layer 110 may be on thesubstrate 100, and the second wiring unit 400 may be on the firstinsulating layer 110. The first insulating layer 110 may include anorganic insulating layer and/or an inorganic insulating layer. In otherwords, the first insulating layer 110 may only include an organicinsulating layer, may only include an inorganic insulating layer, or mayinclude a stack of an organic insulating layer and an inorganicinsulating layer. In FIG. 12, the first insulating layer 110 may have aflat upper surface. However, according to another embodiment, the firstinsulating layer 110 may have an uneven upper surface such as a waveshape.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 12, when the second wiring unit 400 is on thesame level as the gate electrode 204 of the thin film transistor TFT,the buffer layer 201 and/or the gate insulating layer 203 may be betweenthe substrate 100 and the second wiring unit 400. According to anotherembodiment, when the second wiring unit 400 is on the same level as thesource electrode 206 a or the drain electrode 206 b of the thin filmtransistor TFT, the buffer layer 201, the gate insulating layer 203,and/or the interlayer insulating layer 205 may be between the substrate100 and the second wiring unit 400. According to another embodiment,other insulating layers may be further disposed.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the second wiring unit 400 may include thesecond bending portion 410 overlapping with the bending region BA, andmay have a plurality of second holes 410 h that penetrate through thesecond bending portion 410.

A planar shape of each of the plurality of second holes 410 h may be afan shape including two straight lines of which respective one endscontact each other to have a certain angle and a curved portionconnecting other respective ends of the two straight lines to eachother. Although the plurality of second holes 410 h have fan-shapedplanar shapes in FIG. 11, the inventive concept is not limited thereto,and the planar shapes of the plurality of second holes 410 h may befigures formed of curves or straight lines. For example, the planarshape of each of the plurality of second holes 410 h may be a polygon, acircle, an oval, a portion of a polygon, a portion of a circle, and/or aportion of an oval.

According to the present embodiment, the plurality of second holes 410 hmay include (2-1)th holes 410 h 1 and (2-2)th holes 410 h 2. The (2-1)thholes 410 h 1 may be arranged along a first axis ax1, and the (2-2)thholes 410 h 2 may be arranged along a second axis ax2 that is apart by adistance (e.g., a predetermined distance) from the first axis ax1. Eachof the (2-1)th holes 410 h 1 may have a first curved portion r1protruding in a first direction (+x direction), and each of the (2-2)thholes 410 h 2 may have a second curved portion r2 protruding in a seconddirection (−x direction) opposite to the first direction. The (2-1)thholes 410 h 1 and (2-2)th holes 410 h 2 may alternate with each other ina third direction (+y direction) that crosses with the first directionand the second direction.

Referring to FIG. 12, the second wiring unit 400 may be on the substrate100, and the second insulating layer 210 may be on the second wiringunit 400 to cover the second wiring unit 400. The second insulatinglayer 210 may be the interlayer insulating layer 205 or theplanarization layer 207 of FIG. 3. When the second insulating layer 210is the interlayer insulating layer 205, the second wiring unit 400 maybe formed of the same or substantially the same material as that used toform the gate electrode 204 of the thin film transistor TFT and may beon the same level as the gate electrode 204. According to anotherembodiment, when the second insulating layer 210 is the planarizationlayer 207, the second wiring unit 400 may be formed of the same orsubstantially the same material as that used to form the sourceelectrode 206 a or the drain electrode 206 b of the thin film transistorTFT and may be on the same level as the source electrode 206 a or thedrain electrode 206 b. A portion of the second insulating layer 210 maybe in the plurality of second holes 410 h that penetrate through thesecond wiring unit 400.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13illustrates the shape of a second bending portion 410′ according toanother embodiment. The second bending portion 410′ of FIG. 13 isdifferent from the second bending portion 410 of FIG. 11 in terms of theplanar shapes of the plurality of second holes 410 h′.

Referring to FIG. 13, a second wiring unit 400 may include the secondbending portion 410′ overlapping with the bending region BA, and mayhave a plurality of second holes 410 h′ that penetrate through thesecond bending portion 410′. The planar shape of each of the pluralityof second holes 410 h′ may be a circle or oval formed of only curvedlines, or a portion of a circle or oval.

According to a selective embodiment, in the bending region BA where theplurality of second holes 410 h′ are formed, left and right outlines ofthe second wiring unit 400 may be both curves according to the shapes ofthe second holes 410 h′. In other words, when the outline of the secondwiring unit 400 is formed according to the shape of the second holes 410h′, not only the second holes 410 h′ are curves but also the outline ofthe second wiring unit 400 is a curve like the shapes of the secondholes 410 h′. Thus, flexibility of the second wiring unit 400 mayefficiently improve.

According to the present embodiment, the plurality of second holes 410h′ may include (2-1)th holes 410 h 1′ and (2-2)th holes 410 h 2′. The(2-1)th holes 410 h 1′ may be arranged along a first axis ax1′, and the(2-2)th holes 410 h 2′ may be arranged along a second axis ax2′ that isapart by a distance (e.g., a predetermined distance) from the first axisax1′. The (2-1)th holes 410 h 1′ may alternate with the (2-2)th holes410 h 2′.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is aschematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the display apparatus ofFIG. 14, taken along the line C-C of FIG. 14.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a second bending portion 410″ may have aplurality of second holes 410 h″.

The plurality of second holes 410 h″ may be arranged to form a pluralityof rows. The number of second holes 410 h″ or the number of rows is notlimited, and at least two second holes 410 h″ may be arranged to form atleast two rows. According to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, theplurality of second holes 410 h″ may have the same or substantially thesame planar shapes. The planar shape of each of the plurality of secondholes 410 h″ is not limited to the embodiment of FIG. 14.

According to the present embodiment, second holes on an n-th row may beapart by a first distance d from second holes on an (n-1)th row in afirst direction X. In other words, center axes of second holes in asecond direction Y on a row do not coincide with those of second holeson its consecutive row in the second direction Y, but the locations ofthe center axes of the second holes in the second direction (Y) may bedifferent from each other. The second holes on the n-th row may bespaced apart from the second holes on the (n-1)th row in the firstdirection X, and may be apart by the first distance d rightwards orleftwards from the second holes on the (n-1)th row.

According to another embodiment, the first distance d may be less than awidth w of each of the second holes on the (n-1)th row. In other words,if the second holes on the n-th row were moved to the (n-1)th row in thesecond direction Y, the moved second holes may partially overlap thesecond holes on the (n-1)th row.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 14, center axes of the second holeson a first row, a third row, and a fifth row in the second direction Yare aligned with one another, and center axes of the second holes on asecond row and a fourth row in the second direction Y are aligned withone another. However, this is only an embodiment of the presentinvention and the configuration of the plurality of second holes 410 h″is not limited thereto.

A planar shape of each second hole will now be described in detail.

FIG. 16 is a magnified plan view of a portion of the second bendingportion 410″ of FIG. 14. FIG. 16 magnifies and illustrates one of theplurality of second holes 410 h″.

Referring to FIG. 16, the outline of a planar shape of each of theplurality of second holes 410 h″ according to the present embodiment maybe curves. A straight line refers to a line that connects two points toeach other with a small length (e.g., a minimum length), and a curverefers to a line generated when a point consecutively moves on a planeor within a space. According to another embodiment, the outline of thesecond hole 410 h″ may be formed of only curves without includingstraight lines.

When the second wiring unit 400 is bent or folded in the bending regionBA, as a stress applied to the second wiring unit 400 is dispersed, therisk of the second wiring unit 400 being damaged, for example,disconnected or cracked, may decrease. Thus, in a flexible displayapparatus according to the present embodiment, when the outline of thesecond hole 410 h″ is formed of only curves, a stress is efficientlydispersed, compared with when the outline of the second hole 410h″includes a straight line. In other words, when the second wiring unit400 is bent or folded, a greater stress is applied to a straight portionof the outline of the second hole 410 h″ than to a curved portionthereof. Thus, when the outline of the second hole 410 h″ is formed ofonly curves as in the present embodiment, stress concentration duringdeformation of the second wiring unit 400 may be efficiently preventedor reduced.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 14, when the plurality of second holes 410h″are formed in the second bending portion 410″ of the second wiringunit 400 according to the present embodiment, the outline of the secondbending portion 410″ may be curves according to the shape of the secondholes 410 h″. In other words, the second wiring unit 400 included in theflexible display apparatus may be bent or folded in the bending regionBA, and the plurality of second holes 410 h″ may be disposed to face thebending region BA. In the bending region BA, where the plurality ofsecond holes 410 h″ is formed, the outline of the second wiring unit 400may be curves according to the shapes of the second holes 410 h″.

According to a selective embodiment, in the bending region BA, where theplurality of second holes 410 h″ is formed, left and right outlines ofthe second wiring unit 400 may be both curves according to the shapes ofthe second holes 410 h″. In other words, when the outline of the secondwiring unit 400 is formed according to the shape of the second holes 410h″, not only the second holes 410 h″ are curves but also the outline ofthe second wiring unit 400 is a curve like the shapes of the secondholes 410 h″. Thus, flexibility of the second wiring unit 400 mayefficiently improve.

However, this is only an embodiment, and even a portion of the outlineof the second wiring unit 400 where the plurality of second holes 410 h″are formed may be formed as a straight line.

Referring again to FIG. 16, the outline of each of the plurality ofsecond holes 410 h″ may include a first curved portion h1 and a secondcurved portion h2. Each second hole 410 h″ may be formed of the firstcurved portion h1, which is an outline of a hole formed on the left sideof a first axis following the second direction Y, and the second curvedportion h2, which is an outline of the hole formed on the right side ofthe first axis.

According to a selective embodiment, the first curved portion h1 and thesecond curved portion h2 may be continuously connected to each other.The first curved portion h1 and the second curved portion h2 mayrespectively include a section rounded clockwise from an arbitrarystarting point and a section rounded counterclockwise from an arbitrarystarting point. In other words, the first curved portion h1 and thesecond curved portion h2 respectively include a portion that forms acurve clockwise from an arbitrary starting point and a portion thatforms a curve counterclockwise from an arbitrary starting point.

As described above, the first curved portion h1 may include a firstsection ha, a second section hb, and a third section hc. According to aselective embodiment, the first section ha may be a section roundedclockwise by using a point of the first curved portion h1 located on thefirst axis, following the second direction Y, as a starting point.

The first section ha may be formed to have a first curvature.

A curvature is a change rate representing the bending degree of a curve.When a point on a curve moves along the curve at a constant speed, thetraveling direction of the point varies depending on a distance by whichthe point moved. A change rate refers to the curvature of the curve. Acurvature radius r and a curvature have a reciprocal relation. In otherwords, the value of the curvature may be expressed as a reciprocal ofthe curvature radius r, namely, as 1/r.

Accordingly, the first section ha may be formed to have a firstcurvature that may be 1/r₁, which is a reciprocal of a curvature radiusr₁.

The first curved portion h1 may include the second section hb connectedto the first section ha. According to a selective embodiment, the secondsection hb may be a section rounded counterclockwise by using a pointconnected to the first section ha as a starting point. The secondsection hb may be formed to have a second curvature. The secondcurvature may be 1/r₂, which is a reciprocal of a curvature radius r₂.

The first curved portion h1 may include the third section hc connectedto the second section hb. The third section hc may be a section roundedclockwise by using a point connected to the second section hb as astarting point. The third section hc may be formed to have a thirdcurvature that may be 1/r₃, which is a reciprocal of a curvature radiusr₃.

The values of the first curvature 1/r₁, the second curvature 1/r₂, thethird curvature 1/r₃ are not limited. The values of the first curvature1/r₁, the second curvature 1/r₂, and the third curvature 1/r₃ may be alldifferent, two of them may be identical to each other, or all of themmay be identical to each other.

As shown in FIG. 16, the second curved portion h2 may be symmetrical tothe first curved portion h1, about the second axis (Y axis) followingthe second direction Y. In other words, the second curved portion h2 maybe formed to have the same or substantially the same shape as the firstcurved portion h1, and the second hole 410 h″ may have an outline thatis bilaterally symmetrical about the second axis (Y axis). According toa selective embodiment, the first curvature 1/r₁ may be equal orsubstantially equal to the third curvature 1/r₃. In other words, thefirst curved portion h1 may be symmetrical about a first axis (X axis)that follows the first direction X and passes through the first curvedportion h1.

According to a selective embodiment, when the first and second curvedportions h1 and h2 are formed to be symmetrical to each other about thesecond axis (Y axis) that follows the second direction Y, the secondcurved portion h2 may also be formed to be symmetrical about the secondaxis (Y axis). In other words, the outline of the second hole 410 h″ maybe bilaterally symmetrical about the second axis Y that follows thesecond direction Y and passes through the center of the second hole 410h″, and may also be vertically symmetrical about the first axis X thatfollows the first direction X and passes through the center of thesecond hole 410 h″.

However, in related art, a first wiring unit and a second wiring unitare formed as simple straight lines. In a display apparatus having abending region as in the present embodiment, stress concentrates onportions of the first wiring unit and the second wiring unit thatoverlap with a bending region, and thus the portions may have cracks,leading to defects such as a disconnection.

To ease such stress concentration on the portions of the first wiringunit 300 and the second wiring unit 400 overlapping with the bendingregion BA, the first wiring unit 300 in the display apparatus accordingto an embodiment may include the first bending portion 310 and thesecond wiring unit 400 therein may include the second bending portion410. Compared with a typical case in which first and second wiring unitshave straight line shapes, the resistances of the first wiring unit 300and the second wiring unit 400 respectively including the first bendingportion 310 and the second bending portion 410 increase. The firstwiring unit 300 is a data line transmitting a data signal to the displayunit 200 but the second wiring unit 400 is the power line 400 asupplying driving power to the display unit 200 or the driving circuitline 400 b applying a signal to the scan driving circuit 550 asdescribed above, the quality of an image of the display unit 200 is moresensitive to the resistance of the second wiring unit 400 than to theresistance of the first wiring unit 300. Thus, the display apparatusaccording to the present embodiment uses a wiring structure in which theresistance of the second wiring unit 400 including the second bendingportion 410 is less than the resistance of the first wiring unit 300including the first bending portion 310. Accordingly, the flexibility ofthe portions of the first wiring unit 300 and the second wiring unit 400overlapping with the bending region BA may improve and stressconcentration may be eased. Moreover, the image quality of the displayunit 200 may be improved by forming the second wiring unit 400,supplying driving power to the display unit 200, to have less resistancethan the first wiring unit 300.

According to an embodiment of the present invention as described above,a display apparatus is able to reduce (e.g., minimize) defectoccurrences, such as a disconnection, during manufacturing of thedisplay apparatus while securing a long lifespan of the displayapparatus. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limitedthereto.

It should be understood that embodiments described herein should beconsidered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodimentshould typically be considered as available for other similar featuresor aspects in other embodiments.

While one or more embodiments have been described with reference to thefigures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope as defined by the following claimsand their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display apparatus comprising: a substratecomprising a bending region between a first region and a second region,the bending region being configured to be bent about a bending axis thatextends in one direction; a display unit on the substrate; a firstwiring unit at the bending region, the first wiring unit comprising afirst bending portion having a plurality of first holes; and a secondwiring unit spaced apart from the first wiring unit and at the bendingregion, the second wiring unit comprising a second bending portionhaving a plurality of second holes, wherein a width of the first wiringunit and a width of the second wiring unit along the one direction aredifferent from each other.
 2. The display apparatus of claim 1, whereina number of the first holes is different from a number of the secondholes.
 3. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a planar shape ofeach of the plurality of first holes comprises a polygon, a circle, anoval, a portion of a polygon, a portion of a circle, or a portion of anoval.
 4. The display apparatus of claim 3, wherein the planar shape ofeach of the plurality of first holes comprises a fan shape comprisingtwo straight lines of which respective one ends contact each other at acertain angle and a curved portion connecting other respective ends ofthe two straight lines to each other.
 5. The display apparatus of claim1, wherein a planar shape of each of the plurality of second holescomprises a polygon, a circle, an oval, a portion of a polygon, aportion of a circle, or a portion of an oval.
 6. The display apparatusof claim 5, wherein the planar shape of each of the plurality of secondholes comprises a fan shape comprising two straight lines of whichrespective one ends contact each other at a certain angle and a curvedportion connecting other respective ends of the two straight lines toeach other.
 7. The display apparatus of claim 6, wherein the pluralityof second holes comprises: a (2-1)th hole comprising a first curvedportion protruding in a first direction; and a (2-2)th hole comprising asecond curved portion protruding in a second direction opposite to thefirst direction, the (2-1)th hole alternating with the (2-2)th hole in athird direction crossing the first direction or the second direction. 8.The display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an insulating layerthat covers the first wiring unit and the second wiring unit.
 9. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 8, wherein a portion of the insulating layeris at the plurality of first holes and the plurality of second holes.10. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein second holes on an n-throw among the plurality of second holes are apart by a first distancefrom second holes on an (n-1)th row among the plurality of second holesin a first direction, and a planar shape of each of the plurality ofsecond holes comprises a curve.
 11. The display apparatus of claim 10,wherein the first distance is less than a width of one of the secondholes on the (n-1)th row.
 12. The display apparatus of claim 10, whereinan outline of each of the plurality of second holes comprises a firstcurved portion and a second curved portion that is symmetrical to thefirst curved portion.
 13. The display apparatus of claim 12, whereineach of the first curved portion and the second curved portion comprisesa section rounded clockwise by using an arbitrary reference point on asecond axis following a second direction perpendicular to the firstdirection as a starting point, and a section rounded counterclockwisefrom the arbitrary reference point as the starting point.
 14. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first curved portioncomprises: a first section rounded clockwise to have a first curvaturefrom the second axis; a second section rounded counterclockwise to havea second curvature from the first section; and a third section roundedclockwise to have a third curvature from the second section.
 15. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when an identical current isapplied to the first wiring unit and the second wiring unit, the firstwiring unit has a first resistance value and the second wiring unit hasa second resistance value that is less than the first resistance value.16. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first wiring unitcomprises a data line configured to provide a data signal to the displayunit, and wherein the second wiring unit comprises a power lineconfigured to supply driving power to the display unit.
 17. The displayapparatus of claim 1, wherein the first bending portion has a patternbent with a straight line or bent with a curve in a first direction andin a second direction crossing the first direction.
 18. The displayapparatus of claim 17, wherein the first bending portion comprises: afirst line; a second line spaced apart from the first line by a firstdistance to form a pair that are adjacent to each other; and at leastone first bridge line between the first line and the second line toelectrically connect the first line to the second line.
 19. The displayapparatus of claim 18, wherein the first bending portion comprises: afirst portion where the first line and the second line are parallel toeach other in the first direction; and a second portion where the firstline and the second line are parallel to each other in the seconddirection, and wherein the first bridge line is at each of the firstportion and the second portion.
 20. The display apparatus of claim 18,wherein the first bridge line connects the first line to the second linewith a smallest distance.
 21. The display apparatus of claim 18, whereinthe first bending portion further comprises: a third line spaced apartfrom the second line by a second distance, the second line and the thirdline being adjacent to each other; and at least one second bridge linebetween the second line and the third line to electrically connect thesecond line to the third line.
 22. The display apparatus of claim 21,wherein the first distance and the second distance are identical to eachother.
 23. The display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising firstpads and second pads on one end of the substrate, wherein the firstwiring unit is connected to the first pads and the second wiring unit isconnected to the second pads.
 24. The display apparatus of claim 1,wherein the display unit is in the first region of the substrate.